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Ikumi Mito
Ikumi Mito (水戸 郁魅 Mito Ikumi) is a 92nd Generation student in Tōtsuki Culinary Academy. Previously a member of Erina's faction, Ikumi was a former rival of Sōma Yukihira until she lost a shokugeki to him. She became an ally to Sōma following the duel. Appearance Ikumi has short blonde hair with an ahoge and tanned skin. Unlike the rest of the students who wear standard uniforms depending on the seasons, she wears the slightly modified summer Tōtsuki uniform that exposes her cleavage. She also always wears a choker. Her cooking attire consists of a bikini top, short fringed shorts, two leather wristbands, and an arm sheath for her cooking knife. Personality Like her former ally, Erina Nakiri, Ikumi was raised under a notable house, the Mito Family, famed for their influence in the meat industry. As such, she flaunted her abilities and status to those who were considered lower than her. She has a fiery, combative personality and shows great pride in her skills as a meat expert. She is also a bold individual and is not above intimidation to get her way. Behind her tough exterior Ikumi has a softer side which emerged after eating Sōma's Chaliapin Steak Don. Deep down she is a kindhearted individual, especially towards Sōma after he called her nickname, "Nikumi", cute. As a result of that one comment, Ikumi developed a crush on Sōma, but is too shy to admit it. When flustered, she sometimes acts violent when someone calls her out on her concern for Sōma. History Ikumi was born into the Mito family, which founded its empire on selling and distributing meat across Japan. A defining moment in her childhood was on her 9th birthday. Her mother gave her a teddy bear as a gift, which made her very happy. Unfortunately her father destroyed the bear and told his wife to never give Ikumi another gift like that again. Her father then told her to let go of any weakness and become strong and only strong as the successor of the Mito Family empire. Plot Life in Tōtsuki Culinary Academy Ikumi would take her father's words to heart and became an expert in the field of meat. She later applied and was accepted into Tōtsuki Culinary Academy at the middle school level. Sometime before entering high school, Ikumi was recruited by Erina Nakiri into her faction because of her knowledge of meat. Ikumi championed Erina and effectively won various Shokugekis resulting in the disbanding of numerous clubs deemed "unnecessary" by Erina. Among the many clubs to be disbanded was the Don RS club, whom Erina tasked Ikumi to disband. The club nearly did, until a certain individual decided to pay the club a visit. Soma's First Shokugeki and Ikumi's defeat Main Article:First Shokugeki Arc Some time during the first few weeks after the start of the school year, Ikumi hired a team of contractors to begin planning the demolition of the Don RS club which was already reduced to one single individual, the president Kanachi Konishi. When Kanachi tried to protest against her, Ikumi intimidated Kanachi into submission. When he called her by her nickname, Ikumi slashed off the front of Kanachi's pompadour. She continued to intimidate Kanachi, saying that no matter what kind of dish he made, he could not beat her A5 quality beef. However, a visitor to the Don RS club stepped up to take the Shokugeki in the stead of Kanachi. Ikumi recognized the boy as Sōma Yukihira from his infamous speech at the orientation ceremony. Though she tried to intimidate him by making the condition of his loss with his immediate expulsion from Tōtsuki, to her surprise, Sōma accepted as long as Ikumi joined Don RS should she lose. Ikumi accepted the challenge and decided that the theme would be meat with donburi as the cuisine style. During the preparation period, Ikumi contacted her family to deliver the best A5 grade beef for her Shokugeki. With her weapon now ready, Ikumi assured Erina that she will win the Shokugeki, much to Erina's pleasure. On the fated day of the Shokugeki, Ikumi was welcomed into the arena by unanimous cheers while Sōma garnered unanimous boos. Ikumi and Soma exchange a few words with each other before she noticed that Erina herself came to the Shokugeki to witness their match. Without delay, their Shokugeki began. Ikumi set off to work by bringing out her main ingredient, A5 beef. Ikumi began cutting off the best parts of the beef with expert precision. In no time, Ikumi finished preparing her beef and began cooking it in her oven. With some time to spare, she watched Sōma bring out his meat base, a cheap, store bought short loin steak. Confident that his cheap meat will never beat her A5 beef, Ikumi began assembling her donburi while insulting Sōma further. Frustrated by Sōma's lack of a reaction from her insults Ikumi begins to tell him off, however the aroma of Sōma's dish hit Ikumi, causing her to shudder. Finally, the preparation time ended and both of them prepared to present their dishes to the judges. Ikumi presented her dish first, an A5 Japanese Beef Roti Don. The judges were impressed by the presentation of her dish. They complemented her artistry and the fantastic preparation of the meat and the accompanying garlic rice. Confident that victory was in the bag, Ikumi's dish was met with resounding cheers from the crowd. Sōma presented his dish, a Chaliapin Steak Don. Much to Ikumi's surprise, the judges ate the dish much more intensely than her dish. Unlike her don, the judges ate all of Sōma's dish, including the rice, which she still had leftovers of. Sōma pointed out that despite looking like a don, her dish is not a true don since a don requires more than just good meat. Unable to accept Sōma's claims, Ikumi refused to recognize Sōma's dish until he handed her a bowl of his don to prove his point. As she ate his don, she was unable to stop and recalled her painful 9th birthday. With the results from the judges, Soma was declared the winner. As a result of the Shokugeki, Erina immediately cut ties with Ikumi. Frustrated from losing everything, Ikumi lashed out at Sōma when he called her Nikumi. However she quickly fled from the arena in embarrassment when Sōma called her nickname cute. The day after the Shokugeki, Ikumi stood in front of the newly refurbished Don RS clubroom, recalling Sōma's comment about her nickname. She took time to fix her hair before entering the clubroom. To her surprise, Sōma did not join the club. Kanachi then declared her the next head of the Don RS club only for her to lash out at him again when he called her Nikumi. Despite her dislike of Kanachi, Ikumi fulfilled her conditions of the Shokugeki results by becoming a Don RS member. Training Camp Main Article:Hellish Training Camp Arc Shortly after her Shokugeki, Ikumi received a letter from the school, announcing the upcoming Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp. As the students arrived at the venue, the Tōtsuki Villa, Sōma greeted Ikumi. As Ikumi noticed the other students whispering about Sōma, Ikumi told him to be careful during the camp. As the camp officially started, Ikumi proceeded to her tasks. The Breakfast Buffet Challenge Ikumi made it through the first two days without getting expelled. Sometime after the second day afternoon, rumors had begun to spread about Sōma's [[Yukihira-Tadokoro Vs. Shinomiya Shokugeki|''Shokugeki'']]. On the night of the third day, when the students gathered in the Main Hall for a surprise announcement, Ikumi confronted Sōma, scolding him for doing something reckless along with Takumi Aldini, both of whom were surprised by the other. Realizing that Sōma was still in the camp, she wondered if Sōma had beaten Kojirō Shinomiya, however Sōma told her that he had lost. Before she could ask for further information, Gin Dōjima announced their task for the next day, to make a buffet style dish for the hotel guests to eat. With only eight hours to prepare their menu choice, Ikumi and the rest of the 92nd generation quickly dashed to the kitchen to pick and cook a sample of their dish for the next day. The next morning, Ikumi was assigned to Hall E and at 6 AM, the doors opened as the hotel guests, numerous food suppliers, and the hotel staff entered to eat the student's dishes. Tasked to serve 200 dishes by 8 AM, Ikumi presented her buffet dish, a Petit Size Loco Moco Don. The dish was well received by the guests. Suddenly, Alice Nakiri, whom Ikumi immediately recognized, teased Ikumi about her now severed ties from Erina. As Alice returned to her station, Ikumi noticed that none of the guests had taken any of her dish. As time progressed, Ikumi began to fulfill her quota, but she began to slow down once her quota reached 150 dishes. To make matters worse, Alice's dish had begun to steal the attention away from the guests. In the end though, Ikumi served 200 dishes, allowing her to pass the assignment. Despite making it through the assignment, Ikumi had no time to breathe as the next assignment was about to begin. The Final Day As the evening of the 5th day came, Ikumi along with her fellow classmates were beyond the brink of exhaustion as the gathered in the main hall once more for another surprise announcement. Dōjima informed the class that out of the 980 students who had started the camp, only 628 remained. After some inspiring words, Dōjima announced the final activity of the camp: a lavish banquet prepared by the hotel guests and the Tōtsuki Academy Alumni. Ikumi joined her fellow classmates in the banquet hall and enjoyed the meal provided to them. The next day, Ikumi packed up her things and returned to Tōtsuki alongside the other 628 students who had survived the hellish training camp. Karaage Wars Main Article: Karaage Wars Arc Several weeks after the end of the Training Camp, the students of Tōtsuki were given a week off due to a string of holidays and administration days. Ikumi decided to spend her week off back home. However, one night she received a phone call from Sōma, asking if she could teach him about chicken to battle a local Karaage shop that was stealing business from his home shopping district. Eager to spend time with Sōma, Ikumi arrived at Sumiredōri Shopping District. Though she was disappointed that another girl, Mayumi Kurase was there, Ikumi decided to assist Sōma's endeavor to restore the business of the shopping district. After scouting the shop, Sōma and his team returned to Restaurant Yukihira to begin their plan of attack. Sōma's initial dish was good, but he felt that it wasn't enough compared to Mozuya's Karaage. Ikumi suggested that instead of challenging them with karaage, they could challenge with Mito A5 beef which she was willing to sell to him at a discounted cost. However despite lowering the price, the cost was too much for Sōma's budget. Sōma finally decided the way to take down Mozuya was to make a karaage dish that could be eaten fresh since Mozuya needed to be heated up later. While Sōma headed up to his room to grab some old notebooks, Ikumi was left inside the restaurant with only Mayumi. The two talked for a bit, where Ikumi revealed that, though there were many useless people at Tōtsuki like Kanachi, Sōma was not one of them. After Sōma returned with his notebooks, the three set off to work making some prototype karaage. Thanks to Ikumi's knowledge of meat, Sōma made a very juicy and tender karaage that could rival Mozuya. After a failed idea by the head of the shopping district, Yūya Tomita, Sōma came up with a brilliant idea to showcase the entire shopping district in his dish. Approving of his idea, Ikumi contacted home, telling the workers to quickly deliver chicken legs and other ingredients to Restaurant Yukihira. After just three days, Sōma's idea, the Sumire Karaage Roll, was a huge success, effectively bringing life back to the shopping district. Ikumi helped to cook the roll during the remainder of the week. Thankful for her assistance during the week, Sōma told her that he will call her in the future if he ever needed assistance again, which Ikumi happily accepted. Chosen to the Tōtsuki Autumn Election Main Article:Tōtsuki Autumn Election Arc As the first term ended, the 92nd generation gathered on the academy grounds to see who had been chosen for the upcoming 43rd Annual Tōtsuki Autumn Election. Among the 60 students qualified for the preliminary rounds was Ikumi, who was placed in the "A" Block. Sōma was glad to know that Ikumi was selected and they both, along with the Aldini twins, promised to meet again at the elections. Ikumi then went to the Don RS clubroom shortly after to begin deciding her dish choice. Kanachi was happy for the opportunity to increase the Don RS' fame with Ikumi's high quality meat, however Ikumi decided that she would need to do more than just rely on just the meat. With a month to prepare for the preliminaries, Ikumi returned home. Tōtsuki Autumn Election: Preliminary Round After a month of preparation, Ikumi returned to the Academy and entered the event venue along with the 59 other participants. After some inspiring words from Senzaemon Nakiri, Ikumi departed to the "A" Block as the preliminaries officially began. As the cooking time began, Ikumi quickly set off to work by first cooking pork belly. Ikumi was among the few that the head judge of the "A" Block, Natsume Sendawara noticed. Meanwhile Kanachi in the stands cheered loudly for her, much to her embarassment. With some time on her hands, Ikumi surveyed the other participants including Ryō Kurokiba, Ryōko Sakaki, Shun Ibusaki, and Akira Hayama. When she looked at Sōma, he was fast asleep on a stool as his dish simmered in a pot. Ikumi finished cooking her dish soon after and then gathered with the rest of the "A" Block participants to await the judging round. For many of the initially judged dishes, they received incredibly low scores, with none able to earn a single point from Natsume. This changed when Ryō presented his dish, earning the first satisfactory score with a 93. Ikumi followed after, presenting her Dongpo Pork Curry Don. The meat of the dish received praise from the extreme tenderness without having the meat fall apart, showcasing Ikumi's incredible knowledge of meat. Also, Ikumi focused on the rice of her don, creating her first true donburi dish. Though Ikumi did not beat Ryō's score, she earned an 86. Though she was disappointed for not earning at least a 90, Sōma praised Ikumi for her dish. Ikumi reminded Sōma of the phrase he said to her at the end of their shokugeki: "Donburi are completed in one bowl." Despite putting in her best effort into her dish, Ikumi tied for 7th along with Ryōko, meaning that she did not qualify for the main tournament. Celebration for Sōma and Megumi's Main Tournament Entry The following night, Ikumi came to Polar Star to celebrate Sōma and Megumi's qualification for the Main Tournament. During the party, Ikumi showed that she was upset that she did not qualify for the tournament along with the others who did not qualify. Sometime after, Sōma had left the part to talk to Megumi outside on the balcony. Ikumi followed and observed from the sides until Ryōko Sakaki and Yūki Yoshino scandalously asked her about the mood between Megumi and Sōma. Ikumi then rejoined the party and stayed at Polar Star overnight and left the next morning. Tōtsuki Autumn Election:Main Tournament During the Main Tournament, Ikumi sat with the Polar Star Dormitory and Isami Aldini to cheer on Sōma, Megumi, and Takumi. The first match of the tournament was between Sōma and Alice, much to all of Sōma's supporter's horror. Alice's Temari Bento caused many of the audience to realize the difference between their petty skill in comparison to her. While Ikumi and Sōma's supporters worried that Sōma had the unfortunate luck of challenging Alice right off the back, he still presented his Evolved Nori Bento which garnered an equally warm reception from the judges, much to Ikumi's relief. Cooking Style As the sole successor of the Mito House in meat distributing, Ikumi is proficient in meat cooking, especially beef. As a result she has good knowledge on the structure of cattle and its various cuts and the best method to prepare each cut. Her former leader Erina once claimed that Ikumi's rigid culinary training gave her cooking skill an elegance and grace similar to playing piano, rooted in her subtle sense of touch and physical coordination when cutting meat. She is also able to precisely sense her meat's internal temperature based on the feel of the juices on her lips alone. She is also quite strong, capable of accurately using a large meat cleaver to remove the redundant pieces of a large piece of beef. After joining the Don RS club, Ikumi's cooking style evolved, focusing on the style of a traditional Donburi dish. She has begun to focus on all of the components of her dish rather than just the meat and, as tribute to Sōma's words, Ikumi has embraced the phrase "Donburi are completed in one bowl", creating dons that compels the eater to eat everything in the dish. Clubs *Don Research Society - Originally the club's biggest threat, Ikumi was forced to join the Don RS as a result of her Shokugeki loss against Sōma. As the only other member of the club, Kanachi has declared that Ikumi is the successor to the Don RS. Dishes Original Dishes A5 Japanese Beef Roti Don: Ikumi's donburi dish created to defeat Soma during his first Shokugeki. Cooked with high-grade A5 Japanese beef and garlic rice fried in beef tallow and butter. The smell and taste of this ultra high grade of beef, a Mito family specialty, has impressed both her peers and even the harshest food critics. The artistry of the dish speaks for itself as it is styled in a flower arrangement. Petit Size Loco Moco Don: Ikumi's dish choice for the 200 Egg Breakfast Challenge. A variation of the Hawaiian local classic meal, Ikumi substituted standard brown gravy with vinaigrette and arranged it as a don dish. It's hearty and brimming with energy! Dongpo Pork Curry Don: Ikumi's latest donburi dish based after the famed Chinese delicacy of Hangzhou, China. While the meat is bouncy and juicy, the secret of the dish laid within Ikumi's self made tanjouyu oil to ensure the balance of taste between spiciness and sweet flavor within the Donburi. This is also Ikumi's first non-A5 Meat dish. Ikumi has shown that she has learned to create a true donburi dish, making a dish that encourages the eater to eat everything in it. Collaboration Dishes Sumire Karaage Roll: A dish created in collaboration with Sōma to help restore business to the Sumiredōri Shopping District. Thanks to her family's company, she supplied the highest quality chicken leg meat and even created an original sauce to create this portable dish that embodies the shopping district! ''Shokugeki'' Records Official Record Trivia *She ranked 6th in the first popularity poll with 452 votes. *The kanji for Ikumi translates to cultural progress (iku) and fascination or bewitchment (mi). Her last name means "Water Door" **Her family name "Mito" is a play on the English word "meat." **Additionally, her nickname "Nikumi" is a combination of her name Ikumi and the Japanese word niku (肉), meaning meat. *The second bikini Ikumi wears is similar to Yoko Littner's signature flame bikini from Gurren Lagann series. 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